White Ceiling
by Andrew Glasco
Summary: A tale of Tsugumi Komachi's past. Confined to a research facility disguised as a hospital, Tsugumi slowly discovers that her body is going through strange changes. Upon meeting an amnesiac boy that can see the future, her story begins...
1. Awakening

_Disclaimer: All characters and likenesses contained herein are the intellectual property of KID. This is a fan piece designed for the sole purpose of entertainment, so please enjoy!_

_Spoiler Warning: This piece of fanfiction contains __**spoilers**__ relating to Tsugumi's scenario in EVER 17. It is recommended that you play through her scenario before reading._

_EVER 17:_  
**White Ceiling**  
by Andrew Glasco

_Chapter 1_  
**Awakening**

* * *

White. That was all I saw.

As I blinked my weary eyes open, the blur of white slowly came into focus. It was a ceiling – a white, unfamiliar ceiling.

'_Where am I? How long have I been here?'_

I had no idea.

I slowly sat up. My head swam and my limbs felt heavy, but I managed it. The sheets fell from my upper body into my lap as I sat up. Only then did I realize that I was in a bed covered with white sheets. Gathering my wits about me, I took a look around. The room was small, and the walls and floor were the same blinding white as the bed sheets. There were two windows in the room. One window was placed directly above my bed, and the other above the bed next to mine. And sitting up on that bed...

There was a boy. He had short, disheveled brown hair and matching chestnut-colored eyes. His skin was a bit pale; not too different from my own complexion, come to think of it. Judging by his face, he was probably around my age, too. He must have been twelve or thirteen at most. His eyes were locked on me with a look of curiosity. Just how long had he been watching me...? I felt a bit embarrassed, but...I was simply more confused than anything.

"Where am I?" I asked, my tone betraying my uneasiness.

"It's a hospital," the boy smiled, his eyes carrying a glimmer of reassurance.

A hospital? A million questions, all of them unclear, assaulted my jumbled mind. Why? Where? It seemed as though I had the pieces to the puzzle, but I couldn't seem to piece them together.

I simply spoke the first words that came to mind, "Which one?"

"Well...I don't really know, either," came the boy's sheepish reply.

"You don't know?" I repeated, quizzically. Just then, the thought came to me that this boy may not know any more than I did.

"Ha, ha, ha," the boy laughed, though his tone didn't carry much humor. "I don't know why, but I don't know."

Yep. This kid didn't seem to know any more than I did. Taking that to heart, I decided to take another approach. "My name's...Tsugumi. Tsugumi Komachi. You?"

The boy blinked his eyes as though perplexed. "Huh?"

This kid definitely seemed to be confused... In fact, he may have been more confused than I was. "What's your name?" I repeated, my voice falling to just above a whisper. I didn't know why I was speaking so quietly. It wasn't as if I was doing anything wrong.

"Well," the boy began, shifting the covers down his body a bit. "I don't know that either. Sucks, huh?" The boy shot me another smile, as though the notion of not knowing his own name didn't bother him. I understood then. Of course this boy was more confused than me; he couldn't even remember his own identity. What was that called? That's right – amnesia. Even though I didn't know where I was, this boy didn't even know who he was. I felt sorry for him at that moment. He seemed a kind sort, but he was extremely misfortunate.

Then again, I guess I was pretty misfortunate as well. Turning my head away from the boy, my gaze fell to my lap. My hands were folded loosely over the white bed sheets. With the cogs beginning to turn in my own mind, I was beginning to recall just why I must have been brought here. I left the hospital after visiting Julia and went to cross the road. I guess I wasn't paying attention, because I remember a loud horn sounding in my ear, and people's screams from the sides. I remember looking up, and...yes, I remember. I was hit by a car. No. It wasn't even a car. I think it was a semi-trailer. I don't remember anything more about the accident. I don't even remember the pain hitting me. But...how had I survived? It was heading straight for me. I could now recall the terror that gripped me as I saw it. I'm sure that it hit me, but...

I could move. I raised my right arm and turned up my palm, making a fist with my hand. It wasn't hard. I didn't hurt. My legs shifted freely beneath the blankets. My head, though it felt a bit swimmy, didn't hurt either. I was confused. I didn't understand it.

"Hey," the boy's voice snapped me from my reverie, my eyes instinctively raising to acknowledge him. His eyes conveyed concern. This boy was like an open book. "Are you okay?"

I finally realized that I'd never answered him from before. Even though I thought I was thinking straight, maybe I still wasn't completely on the straight and narrow. "I'm fine," I replied quietly. "I'm just a little confused."

"Ah. Why are you here, anyway?" the boy laid back upon his bed pillow as he asked me.

"I," I hesitated, the absurd thought of my survival coming back to gnaw at my mind. "I got hit." I knew that my answer was vague, but I still felt weird about the whole situation.

"Got hit? Someone hit you?" the boy pressed on, interested. But he misunderstood.

"No, I mean," I struggled for the words. "It was...a car. I got hit by a car."

"Really?" he seemed to quickly examine me, probably surveying my condition. "Are you okay? It doesn't look like it was bad."

"I...I don't know," I admitted, turning my eyes from the boy once again. I simply couldn't remember anything else. I must have been knocked unconscious, but...I survived, and didn't seem to be badly hurt at all. It had to have been some kind of miracle.

"Huh," the boy turned his head away from me as well, his eyes turning to stare at the too-white ceiling. Maybe he thought that I was lying. Maybe he just didn't know what to say next.

I didn't have time to think about it any longer as the door to the room suddenly opened. A man in a white lab coat stepped inside and shut the door behind him. Both his eyes and hair were jet black, a stark contrast to his uniform. His eyes were narrow and sharp, and his cheekbones drawn back far, pulling his skin snugly against the bones of his face. A pair of thin spectacles rested upon the bridge of his nose, giving him the look of a middle-aged professor. He wore a small smile on his face as he immediately stepped over to stand at my bedside. A tad frightened, I recoiled a few inches towards the opposite end of the bed.

"Good morning, little lady," the man began. "How are you feeling?"

"Who are you?" came my instant, wary question in reply.

"I'm the physician who will be attending to you," he answered, not missing a beat. He must have been used to this kind of reaction, because his face didn't change at all...like a mask.

"Physician?" I questioned, wading through my still-muddled thoughts. "Oh, you mean you're a doctor."

"Yes," he answered. "I'm going to find a cure for your sickness and make you all better."

"Cure me?" What did he mean? Sickness? I wasn't sick. I was pretty sure of it. I certainly didn't feel sick at all. I felt a bit fatigued, but I attributed that to sleeping for a long time. My dispute, however, was weak in spite of my solid memories. "I got in an accident and got hurt..."

"No," the corner of the doctor's mouth turned up in amusement. "It's a little different than that."

"Different?" I asked in a small voice. What was he talking about? Was I really sick...? Was I wrong about everything? Was that accident just a dream?

"You have a new disease. One that we've never seen before," the doctor told me, placing a hand upon my knee. He didn't seem to be joking. No, a doctor wouldn't joke like this. I knew that, but I didn't want to think about it. I could hear my heart begin to pound louder in my ears. What kind of sickness? And where did I get it? I again found myself with so many questions that I didn't have the answers to.

I'm sure that the fear showed on my face, but the doctor did not acknowledge it. "All right, I'd like to take a little of your blood."

Blood? Though I'd felt fine up until now, I suddenly began to feel a little sick. "Why?"

"Well, it's for research," the doctor answered simply. On second thought, he quickly added, "to find a way to cure you, of course."

"Research?" I repeated thoughtfully. I still didn't understand. What kind of research? What was wrong with me?

"Your illness is very rare."

"Rare?" I repeated after his words again, turning my eyes up towards the white ceiling.

The doctor's eyes still didn't leave me as he spoke. I felt a bit uncomfortable under his gaze, somehow. "There are very few people in the world who have it, and of all those people, you're special."

"Special?" I repeated his words once again as I stared at nothing. I probably sounded like a broken record...but what was he talking about? I understood his words, but not the larger point.

"Your genetic code is being rewritten. It is truly fascinating," the doctor explained, his tone growing considerably more excited. "You're the talk of our whole medical center."

"I don't understand...what you're talking about," I murmured quietly, blinking up at the white ceiling. And I didn't understand. Genetic code? Isn't that something that makes up a person? I had no idea about the details.

"Ha, ha, ha!" the doctor laughed in a good-natured tone...but it felt like he was laughing at me, somehow. "Hey, don't worry about it. We're going to find a way to make you better." The doctor then leaned over the bed so that his face entered my field of vision. "I promise."

All at once, I began to feel a little better. I thought that I might be able to trust this man to help me. After all, he had promised. I managed a small smile at him, deciding to go along with what he wanted. But still, something bothered me. "Um, how are you going to get some blood...?"

"Well, princess...we just..." the doctor seemed to struggle with his words for a moment before finally shaking his head and beginning anew. "Hey, don't you worry yourself about it."

"..." I fell silent. I understood quite well why he wouldn't explain it to me. It was going to hurt. I averted my eyes to the side, catching sight of the boy in the bed next to mine once again. He was looking over at us with curious eyes. He must have been watching the whole thing.

The doctor must have realized that my attention was drifting from him. He didn't relent, but instead pressed on. "Just give me your arm and we'll be done before you know it. It won't hurt."

I was looking into the boy's eyes, and he was looking back into mine. Somehow, without exchanging a word, I believe that we both understood what the other was feeling. I could feel his sympathy. But he was worried, too. In that moment, I was certain that he was a kind boy.

It was then that I felt the doctor gingerly take my arm. "Ah," a slightly startled sound escaped my lips, my eyes turning back to the man. He smiled lightly as he caught my eye.

"Don't worry your little head about it, princess," he coaxed me as he rolled up my sleeve. "It will only take a second." He then reached into his coat pocket and took out a long syringe with a sort of vial attached to it. The needle was so long that my eyes widened all their own.

"Just relax," the doctor tried to assure me, reaching out to take my arm. I flinched. I didn't want to be stuck by such a long needle! I was scared...

The doctor pulled his arm back, maintaining his patience. Looking me dead in the eye, he then told me, "I'm your friend, Tsugumi. I'm going to find a way to make you feel better with this."

My...friend...?

I didn't resist again.

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**EVER 17** -you are in the infinity loop- **EVER 17**  
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A couple of hours passed. The doctor took a lot of my blood, asked me lots and lots of questions, and then finally left. I couldn't answer most of his questions, but he didn't seem mad. Still, I'd felt tired and a little dizzy since he took all of that blood, so I had just lain in bed ever since, staring up at the white ceiling. I was tired but I couldn't seem to sleep. I wondered where I was and what exactly was happening to me. Still, there were no answers for me now. I would have to ask the doctor later.

Sighing softly, my head lulled to the side a bit. I then noticed the boy in the bed next to me once again. Lying in his bed, he seemed to be staring up at the ceiling as well. His eyes were open, but he didn't move at all. I must have looked exactly the same up until just a few seconds ago. I decided to call out to him and try to find out a bit more about him...as a roommate, you know.

"Hey, you there next to me," I called out to the boy, having no name to call him by.

The boy turned his head my way, his eyes a bit groggy. "What?"

"You're sick too, aren't you?" I asked. I knew that he had no memory, but I thought that if he was placed in a room with me, he might have something similar to me. But I retained my memories, so I thought that there might be something else wrong with him, too.

"Me?" He appeared caught off-guard by the question, and seemed unsure of how he should answer. "Uh, well, I—"

"The same sickness as me?" I interjected quickly, hoping to confirm my suspicion. If it was, then maybe I could find out more about what was wrong with me.

"No," the boy answered. His initial tone seemed sure, but he was quick to add a disclaimer. "Ummm...I mean, probably not, anyway."

"You mean you aren't sure?" I questioned with a bit of disappointment. Even if he wasn't sure, he had seemed pretty confident about his answer to begin with.

The boy smiled a little. "Yeah, I'm fine. I know. I can..." the boy trailed off, hesitating once again. Was it really something that was so hard to tell me?

After waiting a few moments for his answer, I finally prompted him. "Um, you can?"

The boy met my gaze evenly with a smile and answered in a tone of resignation. "I can see the future."

The future? I blinked a few times, not having expected such a response. It's something that you would expect to read in a fantasy book, not that you would expect to hear from someone you recently met. Immediately, I began to have my doubts about this kid. Was he playing with me, just lying outright, or...was it really true?

"I don't blame you for not believing me," the boy continued, turning his gaze back towards the ceiling. Perhaps he detected the doubt in my eyes. "But it's true."

"I-it's not that I don't believe you," I quickly protested, though it was something of a lie. "It's just that, y'know...it's not something that's easy to accept." On second thought, it was probably a pretty lame excuse.

The boy was silent for a few moments before he suddenly sat up, pulling the sheets off of himself. "Okay then!" he exclaimed, looking my way. "I'll read a little bit of your future for you!"

I blinked at him once again, speechless. I sat up in bed as well, though I simply let the sheets fall about my lap. "My future?"

"Yep," the boy smiled, pushing himself off the side of the bed and standing on his own two feet. "I'll tell you a little bit about your future as it stands now." The boy stepped over to the side of my bed and held out his hand. "Can I see your hand?"

I was still a little surprised, but I didn't see any reason not to at least go along with it. "Um, sure," I answered unenthusiastically, holding out my hand to him. The boy took my hand and turned my palm up, cupping the underside of my hand in his own palm. He turned his eyes down towards my palm, and his eyes narrowed in careful scrutiny. Was he planning to read my future from my palm? It seemed strange, but...I didn't have any reason not to let him finish. As I turned my eyes from our hands to his careful gaze, I began to count the time in my own head. How long would it take him to finish reading my 'future?'

One, two, three, four...

His hand was warm. His grasp was gentle. His eyes...were hard, as though he were straining himself. Was I wrong for going along with this? I went along with it because I thought he wanted to prove himself to me, but if it was causing him to strain himself...

"I understand it now," the boy finally spoke, turning his now serious eyes up to look at me.

"Seventeen," I replied with a little smile.

"Huh?" the boy blundered, not understanding my meaning.

"It took you seventeen seconds to finish. That's all it takes?" I asked, a little surprised by just how quickly the whole process finished.

The boy chuckled a little, breaking his serious expression. "Oh. I didn't pay attention."

"Still," I began, abandoning the lighthearted expression I wore. "It looked like it was really hard. Are...you okay?"

The boy laughed a bit, brushing off my concern. "Ha, ha, ha...don't worry about me. But I told you I'd tell you a little bit about your future, didn't I?"

"Oh yeah," I recalled. "I almost forgot what we were doing!" I laughed at myself. But the boy didn't laugh this time. His expression remained neutral.

"Do you want to hear it?" he asked in a serious tone.

"Um...sure," I gave a noncommittal answer. I wanted to know what he'd seen, but his expression put me off a little. But...there was no way for me to really prepare for what he would tell me.

"You are going to have many tragedies in your life," he began in a soft tone. "But I don't want you to be sad." It was only as I felt his fingers slip through mine that I realized he was still holding my hand. The warmth of his hand was comforting in the midst of the bitterly cold words.

"You...you're..." I stammered a bit, unsure of what to say. I felt my heart pounding more quickly in my chest, but I wasn't sure if it was because I was so aware of his warmth or because of his tense words.

He averted his eyes to the side as he continued. "The first one will be in five years. Then three years. And then another three years..." His words captivated me...and scared me. Five years? Eight years? Eleven years? Was there only tragedy waiting for me in my future? What was going to happen to me in these times?

"But," he continued, looking back to me. "You're going to live through all of them." His eyes seemed to have an air of finality about them...as if his words could leave no room for dispute. In that moment, I felt as if his words were the absolute truth and I could do nothing to change this future. Fear gripped my heart. A chill ran down my spine. And...an all-encompassing warmth surrounded me. The boy...he wrapped his arms around me and held me in his embrace.

"It's okay," the boy whispered. "I can't see the end of your tunnel...but my heart tells me that there must be a bright light waiting for you."

I felt my eyes begin to tear up, and I closed them tightly to fight back the tears. No! Even if there were all of these painful experiences waiting for me in the future, I wouldn't cry now. Maybe I could change things. Yeah, I could stop these bad things from happening...because it was my life.

It was my life, but...

"Aaauh...waaa...aaaahh...!"

But I cried. Though those brave words echoed in my mind, they didn't reach my heart. My resolution broke so easily as I remembered the boy's eyes. Intensity and sincerity reflected within them. While my eyes shut out the world with bitter tears, his eyes reflected me openly with compassion. Such strong, sure eyes...they were eyes I could never win against. They were eyes I could never have.

For better or worse, they were eyes that would change my life forever

* * *

**  
Author's notes:**  
_All right! If you're reading this it's hopefully because you're enjoying what you've seen so far. First and foremost I'd like to say that my motivation behind writing this lies in having seen and scrutinized Tsugumi's brief in-game flashback. I felt that there was plenty of room for expansion and some room for a bit of creative freedom as well. Please take note that I tried to stick very closely with the in-game dialogue from the scenes depicted therein, but slight changes were made here and there to fit the context._

_Obviously I am taking some liberty with the relationship between the amnesiac kid and Tsugumi, but the fact that she bothers to mention him to Takeshi implies to me that he was someone special to her in one way or another. She doesn't even mention her friend Julia to Takeshi but in passing, after all. Essentially, I hope to present my own interpretation of how things could have gone down in Tsugumi's past._

_I didn't originally realize just how long this piece would be and therefore didn't split it into chapters until after the fact. Hopefully it doesn't break the flow of the story! I made a conscious effort to cut during scenes I deemed appropriate, but also had to consider each chapter's length. Coincidentally, each of the four chapters is a bit longer than the last in length. So please read on, enjoy, and leave me a review telling me what you think!_


	2. Caged

_Disclaimer: All characters and likenesses contained herein are the intellectual property of KID. This is a fan piece designed for the sole purpose of entertainment, so please enjoy!_

_Spoiler Warning: This piece of fanfiction contains __**spoilers**__ relating to Tsugumi's scenario in EVER 17. It is recommended that you play through her scenario before reading._

_EVER 17:_  
**White Ceiling**  
by Andrew Glasco

_Chapter 2_  
**Caged**

* * *

I opened the door to my room and waddled over towards the bed. I was feeling a bit light-headed after finishing today's tests and I didn't want to walk around any more. As I scrambled up onto the now-familiar bed, the boy beside me called out to me. 

"Hey, Tsugumi. They finally finished?"

"Yeah," I replied curtly. I didn't feel too much like talking about it. Actually, we hardly ever talked about our situation. Several months had passed since I came here, but nothing had really changed save for my familiarity with the routine. We would both wake up to the doctor coming into the room and getting the boy beside me for testing. I would wait a couple of hours before he and the doctor returned. The doctor took me with him on his way out, and then they ran tests on me, always comparing information they'd gotten before. I still didn't really understand it, but I thought they must have gotten closer to finding out a way to help me after so long. I still didn't exactly know what was wrong with me, either. At first when I would ask, the doctor would always start getting really technical and I couldn't understand what he meant. But when I ask now, he just smiles and tells me not to worry about it because I have all the time in the world. Why wouldn't they just explain it to me so I could understand? It was frustrating.

I lay back upon the bed and looked up at the same white ceiling that I'd been watching for months. I was used to it now, and I guess it was the closest thing that I could call 'home.' But I missed my home before I came here. I was an orphan, and I didn't really have a great attachment to any of the people at the orphanage I grew up in...but even life there wasn't so repetitive. I had to remind myself that once they found a way to cure me, I would be able to leave. Thinking like that was the only way not to be bothered by the same painful routine day after day.

I wondered how Julia was doing. Julia, who was so sick when I got in that accident and was forced to come here...was she better now? Had she already been allowed to leave? More importantly in my selfish mind, did anyone tell her about my accident? She didn't think that I just abandoned her, did she? I had been visiting her nearly every day, but I suddenly didn't show up anymore. I hoped that she knew the reason. I didn't want her to think of me as a bad or fickle person. I still worried about her. I just spent much more time worrying about myself these days. I still didn't feel sick, but the doctors assured me that there was no mistake. I guess they would know better than I would, even if it was my body. Honestly, I felt a little depressed about my situation. The same thoughts swirled around in my head again and again. It was incredibly repetitive and disheartening, just like my routine day after day.

"Tsugumi," the boy called over again. "Are you asleep?"

I glanced over towards him. "'Course not. I just laid down a minute ago." I knew I wasn't being very fair towards him; I was just in a bad mood. The boy didn't seem to mind.

"Tsugumi, you wanna see some place neat?" the boy smiled.

"Of course!" came my nearly automatic reply. There was simply nothing to think about. I had been here looking at the same surroundings for a few months now. Without fail, I would jump at the chance to see something new.

"But we're not supposed to go there, so we've got to be careful," he warned me. I understood him. The doctors treated us okay, but they seemed strict. I hadn't done anything to make them mad since I came here. If we got caught somewhere we weren't supposed to be, I had no doubt that we'd be in trouble. Still, I wasn't really worried. My bad mood was quickly fading at the idea of seeing some place new, my face smiling all on its own.

The two of us quietly headed outside the doorway, our bare feet lightly tapping off the linoleum floor with each step. There was no one in the hallway outside of our room, and after casting one another a knowing look, the boy led on. I didn't know where we were soon enough. I hadn't explored the floor outside of where they'd taken me. I immediately got the impression that they didn't want me wandering around without them even saying so. On the other hand, with the way that the boy navigated the hallways, I surmised that he had done his share of poking around. It was then that I realized that even after all this time, I still didn't know how long this boy had been here. I'd never really thought about it.

"Hey," I called out to him curiously. "Just how long have you been here, anyway?"

"How long?" he repeated, curling his nose up in thought. "Well, I've been here for about seven months that I can remember."

"Seven months, huh?" I repeated. I wasn't sure if it was a long time or a short time. It sounded long, but I didn't know how long we would have to be here, either. In that case, maybe it wasn't such a long time.

"Here it is," the boy snapped me from my daydream, gesturing to an unmarked doorway off to the right. It only looked like any number of other doors in the hospital. I stepped up to the doorway and looked back to the boy, curious.

"What's inside?" I asked him directly.

"You'll see," the boy grinned. He turned the knob and stepped inside. I followed a step behind him.

I was mesmerized as I stepped inside. The room didn't look much different than some kind of messy storeroom, but there were lots of animals inside. Cats and mice in cages were scattered about everywhere, some stacked on top of one another. Some of the cats mewed as fluorescent lighting from the hallway shined brightly into the otherwise dark storeroom. I stepped past the boy, towards a few of the cages. The poor animals... Many of them looked tired and cranky. It definitely couldn't be very comfortable in those cramped cages. There wasn't anything even resembling a toy in any of the cages. It looked like a cold, unforgiving home. Suddenly, my room with the boy didn't seem so bad. The boy flicked the lights on and came to stand next to me as I looked down at one of the mice.

"They're so cute," I murmured quietly. The mouse was adorable, looking up at us with wide, red eyes. Its movements were sudden and quick, and I was fascinated by it. I'd never had a pet, and I hadn't ever been very close to a mouse. There were a few back in the orphanage one year, but I never saw any of them except as they quickly scurried away.

The boy leaned down to take a better look at the mouse that had monopolized my attention with his hands on his knees. "I wonder why they're in a place like this?"

"Yeah," I replied, still distracted. "Those cages are so small... It looks painful."

There was silence. I stuck my index finger into the mouse's cage, and the critter quickly ran up to inspect the unknown object. My lips curled up into a small, affectionate smile.

"...You want to let them out?" the boy suddenly asked.

I was surprised, turning my eyes up to look at the boy. "I wonder if it would be all right?" Was he serious? I knew we would get in trouble...unless he had an idea for us to sneak them out somehow. I was hopeful.

The boy smiled, his eyes sure. "It should be. Come on, let's do it!" Suddenly enthusiastic, the boy reached down, beginning to fiddle with the lock on the mouse's cage.

"Hey, wait..." I tried to cut in to stop him, but he didn't listen. It didn't look like he had some great master plan. He was just letting them out. Wouldn't we get in big trouble? Nonetheless, it was too late to stop him as the mouse's cage swung open. The boy quickly scooted over to the cat's cage nearby, opening it as well before moving down the line. Animals were soon hopping out of containment, and not long after, all of the cages had been opened.

"Okay, everyone out!" the boy shouted as if the mastermind behind a grand-scale breakout. "Run while you can!"

I was stunned. The boy had simply opened the cages and was ushering the little animals towards the door. Was he just not thinking, or was he really not concerned? While I stood there stunned, a pair of doctors entered the room, obviously driven here by the ruckus. Their eyes immediately fell upon the two of us.

"Hey! What do you two think you're doing?!" one of them shouted, looking at the animals scattered about the floor.

"Oh no! The experiment!" the other yelled, backing away from the door in something akin to panic.

Both researchers quickly began to scurry down the hall, yelling. A ruckus quickly began to sound further down the hall.

"Everyone, be careful! Whatever you do, don't let them bite you! They're contagious!"

Were these animals sick? Looking at the animals, who were quickly scurrying away every which way, I wondered if we'd done something wrong. If the animals were sick, were they just trying to keep other people safe? That's why I was in this hospital, wasn't it? They didn't want me to make anyone else sick, and they wanted to help me get better. Were they trying to make these animals better, too? But...somehow, that didn't seem right. The animals were kept here, in this cold, dark room. They were huddled together with complete disregard, so it was better to let them out...wasn't it?

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**EVER 17** -_you are in the infinity loop_- **EVER 17**  
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Soon enough, we were herded back into our room by one of the angry doctors. He yelled at us and left the room after telling us to stay put. Both the boy and I sat on our respective beds, quiet for the time being. I felt like I needed to say something, though. We'd been scolded, but I didn't really feel bad about it. I wondered what the boy was thinking as my eyes rose to take a glance in his direction. To my surprise, he was peeking a glance at me as well. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks, my eyes instantly falling back into my lap. I saw the boy do much the same in my peripheral vision.

This was stupid.

"Tsugumi?" the boy called out, beating me to the punch by a split-second.

My own call stuck in my throat, I stammered out my words. "Wh-what is it?"

Nonetheless, he didn't seem to really know what he wanted to say, either. He struggled with his words for a few moments before he finally managed to put his thoughts together. "Say, do you think the animals got away?"

"I don't know," I admitted honestly. I didn't really see how they'd get outside. But still, I thought that if they hid themselves well enough, some of them might get out. I could only hope.

"Was it a stupid thing to do?" the boy asked with a sheepish grin.

Oh, so he was worried. I thought it was a brash thing to do, but I was honestly very happy that the animals had been able to escape thanks to him. It wasn't fair for any living thing to live stuck in those tiny, cold cages...or so I believed. Even if we were scolded or punished, I was glad. "No, I wanted to do it...but I was scared."

That's right; I couldn't bring myself to do something so sudden and bold. I wanted the animals to run free, but I was still worried about myself. I was selfish.

The boy's face conveyed his surprise openly. "You were scared? Why?"

"Because," I explained weakly. I was too embarrassed to openly explain my reasons. I admired the boy for his ability to just...act. He didn't seem worried about the consequences. Why couldn't I be like that?

"Uh...okay," he pretended to understand, though he still certainly didn't have a clue. "That's okay anyway, 'cause I'll do the dirty work."

The boy laughed at his joke, and of course, I instantly knew he was trying to cheer me up...but even still...

"Ha, ha, ha!" I found myself quickly laughing along with him. It didn't really matter whether it was funny or not. What mattered was that this boy was truly my friend. It wasn't like at the orphanage where the children were all herded together and made to play with one another; this was genuine friendship. I was certain that both he and I knew that. From the beginning we'd had a kinship with one another, but this was more than a simple understanding. He cared about me. That was why he wanted to cheer me up, wasn't it? I was sure of it.

And I couldn't help but smile.

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**EVER 17** -_you are in the infinity loop_- **EVER 17**  
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A bit over a week passed. The doctors were really upset with us, keeping a closer eye on us than they normally would for several days. It was for that reason that neither of us had been able to check in on the results of our little stunt with the animals. Had any of them escaped? Surely at least one of them had gotten away, right? We wanted to find out, and agreed that we would go there again once things had calmed down. Finally, our chance came.

"Tsugumi," the boy called over to my bed from his own. "You're awake, right?"

I turned my eyes away from the white ceiling to look at him. "Uh-huh. What's wrong?"

"Listen," the boy replied simply. I listened, waiting for him to continue before I realized that he didn't mean to listen to him. I listened carefully for any sounds in the background, but heard nothing. Oddly, my hearing seemed to be sharper than ever lately. It was probably just my imagination, though.

"I don't hear anything," I answered, shrugging my shoulders a little. But the boy's enthusiasm didn't quell, but instead grew.

"Exactly!" the boy grinned. "You know what that means, right?"

"Huh?" I had to think about his words for a moment, but I quickly caught on to what he was getting at. "Oh! No one's around outside!"

"Yep," the boy affirmed as he slid off of the bed, his feet touching down on the cold linoleum flooring. "So want to go take a look?"

"Yeah," I nodded, now enthusiastic as well. I slid off the bed and slipped in behind the boy as he opened the door. This was only the second time we'd done this, but we both knew how we were going to go about it. We wanted to be careful, but quick. Thankfully, the halls were quite empty, so voices and footsteps from their shoes carried quite well down the hallway. We heard neither voices nor footsteps as we started down the hall. I probably had a stupid look on my face. I was excited about getting to see the animals again, plus I enjoyed the thought of doing something we weren't supposed to do. It felt like an adventure, like it was something really dangerous. It was actually only a bit of mischief, but when compared to the monotony of my usual days, this was hair-raising excitement.

Both of us jumped as a door a few yards away suddenly swung open. In a panic, we looked left and right, searching for some way to escape. While I was flustered, the boy grabbed my hand and rushed to the left, opening an unfamiliar door there and running inside along with me before quickly closing it behind us. The room was dark, which I immediately took as a good sign. Oddly, it didn't seem too hard to see in the thick darkness. It was a small cleaning closet, stocked full with enough chemicals to give me a nearly immediate headache. The smell was overpowering, but I vowed to endure it. The boy was feeling along the wall for a light switch, which I guess he couldn't see.

"It's over there," I assisted, pointing to a spot on the wall less than a foot to his right.

"Where's 'there?'" he asked, apparently not seeing my finger either.

"A little to your right...move your hand up...right there!" I directed him until his hand was right over the switch. He flipped the light switch up and...nothing happened.

"I guess it's burned out," he admitted with a hint of worry.

I turned away from the boy, taking a step into the small closet and scanning the walls. "Don't worry, I can see pretty well in here."

"Really? I can't see a thing," he gawked, obviously impressed.

"Well, we shouldn't have to wait too long," I tried to assure him, wondering silently if his eyes were bad.

"Well," the boy began, taking a step in my direction. He couldn't see where he was stepping, however, and the stick of a broom caught his ankle. "Ah...!"

"Ahh!" With a startled cry of my own, his body crashed into mine, causing both of us to go tumbling to the floor.

"Ow..." Pain ran through my head. I'd banged the back of my head against the floor when I fell. It throbbed. Slowly, as the pain dulled, I opened my eyes and found the boy laying over me. His face was inches from mine, instantly bringing a rush of heat to my cheeks. He looked stunned...probably almost a mirror of my own expression. Embarrassed, I quickly turned my head to the side, desperately trying to escape his eyes. Quickly, as though brought back to reality, the boy scrambled off of me.

"S-sorry," he murmured, standing to his feet. "I couldn't see, and—"

"I-it's okay." I replied, standing up slowly. Odd...the pain was already almost gone from my fall. I must not have hit it as hard as I thought.

And then there was silence. We didn't really know what to say, and the air felt a little heavy. It was probably close to a minute before I finally spoke up.

"Hey, kid...I don't hear anything outside anymore."

"Oh yeah," he realized. "Then let's get out of here!"

The tension between us loosening a bit, he opened the door and peeked out. There was no one in the hall once again. I also recognized that we were pretty close to the room. I hoped that we wouldn't encounter any more problems as we stepped out into the hall, retracing our steps towards the storage room full of animals.

It didn't take long for us to reach the room, no further incidents occurring between our exit of the closet and our arrival at the storage room. The inside of the room was dark, though not quite so much as the closet we'd just been stuck in. The darkness was shallow, but the boy reached over and turned on the light anyway. Thankfully, the lights in this room worked. My earlier excitement returning, I hurried over towards one of the crates. It was the same crate that the mouse I'd played with before had been on, and I wanted to see if it had gotten away.

I was disappointed to see that the mouse was back inside its cage, curious eyes looking towards me as I towered over its meek little prison. Casting my eyes to the side, I noticed the cat that was next to it had been caught as well. Taking a quick look around, it looked like all the animals had been caught. I wasn't positive, but the animals seemed to match up in my memory. I felt badly for them...free for only a few minutes or hours only to be forced back into their cages.

The boy came to stand next to me, looking down at the mouse. "They were really mad at us."

I nodded, sticking my index finger into the cage through a pair of the thin bars. The mouse hopped over and sniffed at my finger curiously. "You opened the cages so fast, you surprised me."

"Sorry," he replied immediately. The boy knew that I was glad for his intervention with the animals, so his apology wasn't really necessary. It was probably more of a natural reaction. Of course, I was sure he knew that I wasn't blaming him for anything, either. We understood one another. His eyes remained trained upon the little mouse who was enamored with my finger. "They caught all the animals again..."

My voice trailed low, remaining just above a whisper. "Yeah, they're right back where they were before...in those cramped, small cages. They're trapped again..." I noticed the boy glance towards me out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't look away from the little mouse to meet his eyes. Why should these animals have to remain trapped in these little cages, unable to ever leave? Shouldn't they at least be allowed to roam a room freely? Shouldn't they have a little more space? Weren't they miserable like this?

"Why do they have to be locked up that way?" I whispered under my breath, a gloom surrounding me as I pondered that question that I could not so easily dismiss. "Why?" I couldn't find an answer that satisfied me. What reason could there be that would justify it? Who was it going to help? What was it going to accomplish?

I wonder...

"Why?"

But deep down, I was beginning to realize the answer to that question. The reason I couldn't answer it wasn't because I didn't have the knowledge, but because my point of view was distorted. I was trying to figure out why the doctors were keeping them here, caged and packed together, while trying to help them. But...there seemed to be no signs of help anywhere in this room. The primary problem was that it wasn't a storage room turned into a hold for animals, but rather just a storage room. It hadn't been altered at all. Cages were stacked on top of crates, various tools I didn't recognize littering the floor. There was no sign of care for the animals or their environment. They were packed here not to be nursed back to health, but...for something else. These animals were being held here without a chance to leave. They had no say in the matter. They probably wondered why they were here.

These animals were just like me.

It was a sudden, violent realization. But just how long had I actually realized that something was strange? Before now, certainly. I was just like these animals, stuck here being poked at day after day, unable to leave. But...the doctors were trying to help me, right? I was suddenly very wary and uncertain of my position here, but I also couldn't allow myself to become paranoid. I was also still young and naïve to a point. I wanted to believe the doctors. The doctor had told me that he was my friend. I would have to trust them for now. If something more was afoot, I was confident that I would find out more sooner or later

* * *

**  
Author's notes:**  
_Chapter 2 is a wrap! If chapter 1 served to introduce the characters and their situation, chapter 2 focused more directly on trying to develop the characters while taking a more methodical pacing with their situation. Chapter 3 will speed things up a bit. Hopefully the pacing isn't too plodding or too rushed._

_Before I'm lynched without a proper trial, let me say that I'm trying to portray Tsugumi at present as I believe she acted in the flashback. Though she wasn't very talkative, she also seemed a bit lost and rather dependent. Don't worry – I don't intend to stray from the end result of Tsugumi's personality. There's still twelve years until the LeMU incident, after all._

_Oh, it's also worth mentioning why I chose the first-person perspective. It's simple, and most people probably guessed it without me having to point it out. I simply used the first-person to try and capture a bit of the same atmosphere as the game. The formatting, while certainly different, is often spaced into shorter paragraphs for the same reason. However, I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I simply don't have a lot in mind to write or I become a bit too long-winded. Like now, for instance! I hope you are enjoying the story. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think! Until chapter 3!_


	3. Cureless

_Disclaimer: All characters and likenesses contained herein are the intellectual property of KID. This is a fan piece designed for the sole purpose of entertainment, so please enjoy!_

_Spoiler Warning: This piece of fanfiction contains __**spoilers**__ relating to Tsugumi's scenario in EVER 17. It is recommended that you play through her scenario before reading._

_EVER 17:_  
**White Ceiling**  
by Andrew Glasco

_Chapter 3_  
**Cureless**

* * *

I discovered that something more was afoot.

Three years passed. I was fifteen, and many realizations had come to me in the past few years. First of all, I was certain that I was not in a hospital. I was in some sort of research facility. Once I suspected it, it wasn't very difficult to figure out. There were no visitors. Very few of the patients, none of whom I had bothered to get to know even after three years, ever left the facility. We were ushered back to our rooms hurriedly like caged animals. We were, in fact, just like those caged animals to our oppressors.

I was being studied. The reason was also becoming clearer to me. Saying that I was "sick" may have been something of an exaggeration, but I did have some kind of strange disease. This disease, however, didn't threaten my life, nor did it limit me physically. In fact, it had somehow strengthened me. In the darkness I could easily make out objects that emitted heat. My body was very mobile and strong. My eyes and ears worked perhaps better than ever. My wounds were healing at a swifter and swifter rate. The only thing that the disease had harmed in me was that I was now far more sensitive to light. The white ceiling of my room that I had been staring at for well over three years now sometimes seemed blinding. The sun shining in through the window was even worse. The staff, who I now knew to be researchers, were eventually forced to place thick curtains up in the windows to block out the sunlight. They knew of the discomfort that the sunlight caused me, yet...

"_Just lay there and look up at the light. Don't worry, it won't hurt a bit."_

A part of my testing for some time was to gauge the degree of light I could withstand before it became painful. They pretended to care about my discomfort...

"_Does it hurt? Okay, we'll turn it down just a bit. Bear with it and tell us when the pain goes away."_

It was all a lie. The researcher who ran tests on me, the very same man who had claimed to be my friend, lived the lie of being a compassionate human being day in and day out. His lies were at last clear to my eyes.

"_You're going to help many people once we figure out how to cure you."_

I laid on a cold examination table, staring blankly up towards the light. There was a tube running into my arm. It was a dull ache. I ignored it. The researcher sat beside me, watching some monitor and taking notes. But I didn't really care what he was doing, just as I knew that he didn't really care what I was thinking. I simply stared ahead. I wasn't thinking of anything. This was just how things were. I didn't have to like it. I was simply living. Was I looking ahead, hoping that tomorrow might be different?

No.

At that time, I had but one person who was my thread of hope. I had but one person that I could trust. It was because of him that I could endure this. I would always return home to him, no matter how unwelcoming home may be.

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**EVER 17** -_you are in the infinity loop_- **EVER 17  
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I returned to the room late. Even if the thick curtains hadn't covered the windows, it would have been dark in the room. My arm still ached, but I hardly felt it. I had grown used to having aches from needles and tubes that they stuck in me day after day. As I stepped into the room, I brushed my bangs away from my eyes. My hair had been growing for three years. If we wanted to cut it, we had to do it ourselves. The researchers wouldn't bother themselves with such a trivial matter. My line of sight clear, I cast a glance in the direction of the boy's bed. It was still, and my strange vision allowed me to easily see that he wasn't moving aside from the steady rise and fall of his chest with his breathing. A faint smile rose upon my pale features. It felt unnatural. I didn't smile that much nowadays. In fact, I hadn't smiled at anyone besides the boy in a long time. He was the only one that made me feel like smiling.

"Good night," I whispered quietly towards his bed as I sat down upon my own.

But I received an answer, startling me enough to keep me from lying back upon my bed. "Night, Tsugumi."

Embarrassment quickly struck. "You should have said something if you were still awake!" I chided him, a bit flustered.

An amused laugh sounded out as the boy rolled over and sat up, grinning over at me in the darkness. "Sorry, sorry. I wanted to see if you'd say anything. By the way, what took so long today?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. Frankly, I didn't care. "I didn't really listen."

"Oh," he shrugged. He didn't really seem surprised. I guess my apathy for the researcher was pretty obvious by now. Of course, he didn't really seem to care for the researchers either, so I wasn't alone in my feelings. "Anyway, I was waiting for you to come back."

"Why?" I asked, genuinely surprised. We would usually talk, but I doubted he would wait up late just to talk. We'd see each other tomorrow, after all. It isn't like we were leaving.

"Because there's someone I want you to meet," he explained with a new grin.

"Someone?" I repeated, confused. I didn't see anybody else in the room, and we'd never gotten any visitors. I don't think there were any 'visitors' in a research facility, after all.

The boy hopped out of his bed stepped over to mine before sitting on the edge. He then grabbed his right sleeve and pulled it loose. A moment later, a black, furry little head popped out from his sleeve! For a split second I thought it was a bug, but I quickly noted the fur and realized it looked like some kind of little mouse. A gerbil, maybe? It was mostly black on the top with a stark white underbelly. It had cute little eyes and a pointy nose with short whiskers. My expression changed from slightly fearful to love-struck in a matter of seconds.

"Aw, it's so cute!" I exclaimed with girlish delight. "Is it a gerbil?"

"Ha, ha, ha!" he laughed, obviously pleased with my reaction. "Nah, it's a djungarian hamster...I think." He scratched his head, obviously not quite as certain as he'd originally sounded. It didn't bother me. The kid turned up his palm and the little hamster leapt onto his hand. "I snuck him out of the storage room with the animals. There are a lot of different animals in there now."

"Djungarian hamster, huh?" I asked, not thinking about what I was saying at all.

I hardly even caught the fact that he'd gone back to the storage room with the animals. We'd been back to that room together only twice in the three years that had passed. The first time the animals were all gone. We'd been worried about them, but there was nothing we could do. The second time we'd come back, however, there had been even more animals than before. It was strange. The kid had been caught on our second trip, however, so we'd been scolded once again and they'd been careful to keep us away from the animals. But I suppose that after three years, they had stopped really worrying about it. So had I, frankly.

"Hey, can I hold him?" I asked, finally looking up at the kid.

"Sure," the kid replied. He held out his hand with the little hamster, and I held out my hand just below his. The kid tipped his hand to the side and the hamster slid onto my hand. The hamster instantly spooked, this long, unfamiliar platform frightening to him. His teeth bared down hard on the side of my index finger.

"Ow!" I cried, startled. A thin stream of blood began leaking out from the new, small wound on my finger. The hamster hadn't pulled away from the fresh wound. "Let go!"

"Hey, stop it!" the boy chided the little furball. He reached over and poked the hamster in the side with his index finger. It surprised the critter enough to cause him to release his hold, running quickly to the other side of my hand. "Sorry, Tsugumi. He didn't act mean at all..."

"No, it's okay," I assured the boy. "He was just scared. Besides, it's not bad. It'll be completely healed before morning."

"Before morning?" the boy asked. He knew that something like that wouldn't heal in just a few hours. Or...it shouldn't.

"Yeah," I replied. I wasn't lying. I knew that my body would heal itself long before the morning light shone over the horizon. He didn't have to believe me. And though it was selfish, I didn't want to explain. Even though he could see the future and certainly wasn't normal himself, I still didn't want the boy to know what a freak I was becoming. He accepted my words without question, as he so often did.

"Here," the boy stuck out his hand. I handed the little critter over to him without complaint. I raised my bleeding finger to my lips and sucked the blood from the cut gingerly. It just stung a little, but I didn't want to get any blood on my sheets.

"Does he have a name?" I asked. My voice was a bit muffled by my finger as I spoke, but my words were clear enough.

"A name? No. I mean, he isn't ours—"

"He isn't theirs either!" I challenged him, pulling my finger away from my lips. I couldn't stand it. I couldn't stand thinking of this little hamster being bullied around by those researchers. I was sure that all of those animals were expendable to them. If we gave him back, just how long would this little guy even survive? "Listen...I don't think that you don't have to own something to give them a name. Do parents that have children "own" their kids? No. Children are completely dependent on their parents, but the children are completely independent as an individual simply by the virtue of having life. Ownership only relates to possessions. Objects. People and animals aren't like that. No one owns this little guy. But we can give him a name like parents would...because he can depend on us, right?"

I guess the boy was a bit taken aback by just how strongly I felt about the situation. He just stared at me for a few moments before he finally replied. "Y-you're right."

"So," I began, my expression softening. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Hmmm," the boy pondered. "How about Djungi? He's a djungarian hamster and all."

"Djungi?" I repeated, my tone incredulous. "That reminds me of...well, garbage somehow. Let's think of something else."

"Garbage? Uh, okay. Do you have any ideas?" he asked. Thankfully, his expression showed that he didn't take any offense to me shooting down his name.

"Well," I thought for a few long moments before it hit me. "How about Chami?" I clapped my hands in satisfaction. Chami...I thought it was perfect!

"Chami?" he repeated with a look of confusion. I guess he didn't understand where the name came from.

"Chami, because he's charming." I explained. "Charming...Chami. See?"

"Heh," he grinned. "I get it. I guess that makes sense. I like it. Chami, huh?" The boy turned his eyes down to look at the little hamster once more. It was staring up at him with curious eyes.

"He is charming," I smiled, admiring just how cute little Chami was.

The boy just nodded, silent. He stared down at Chami as well, but his expression had tightened a bit. I waited for him to say something...but he remained silent. Over a minute of what seemed like a slightly uncomfortable silence passed before I decided to speak once again.

"What's wrong?" I asked, turning my eyes from the hamster to him.

"Oh, nothing really," he replied. But it was obvious that it wasn't nothing. "It's just...I wonder what I was called by the people that were supposed to take care of me...but didn't. Did they even bother to give me a name? I wonder just where I was before I came here, anyway..."

I hadn't even thought about the fact that this boy didn't have a name while I stressed my desire for Chami to have a name. I was just so used to the fact that he had no name after three years that it no longer seemed unnatural. Of course, I didn't want him to lament the fact that he couldn't remember his name. But more than that, I didn't want to give the boy a nickname just for convenience. When and if he regained his memory, having another name would only cause him more confusion. I'd thought about this early on when I strongly felt the desire to give him a nickname. I had decided then that it was best just to leave it alone, and I didn't want to change that now. I needed to take his mind off of these negative thoughts.

"Hey," I called to him softly. "Look at me."

The boy obligingly raised his eyes to look at me. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks once again. What was I doing...?!

But even as I wondered, I raised a hand and brushed his bangs aside. I raised my other hand and dipped his head downward, softly pressing my lips to his forehead. It was a quick peck...on the forehead no less, but I still didn't know that I'd ever felt quite so embarrassed. My cheeks burning, I pulled away and returned my hands to my sides. I looked to him to gauge his expression and found that he appeared no less embarrassed than myself, his eyes turned downward. I followed suit.

A long silence passed between us.

"Th-that was a thank you," I explained in a small voice. "For everything."

"A thank you?" he asked as he cast a bashful glance my way.

"I don't know what you were called, but it doesn't change who you are," I swallowed. "Who you are...to me."

"Tsugumi," he whispered.

Chami was running around the boy's hand without a care. I, on the other hand, was sure that I would die from embarrassment.

We embraced, wrapping our arms tightly around one another. It was only then that I realized that we probably both wanted this sort of comfort for a long time. For myself, there could be no doubt. The proof was the wetness that had risen within my eyes, tears that threatened to fall. I didn't blink them back. Let them fall now. I felt safe releasing my contempt and despair within his arms. I felt Chami leap up onto my shoulder as I tightly closed my eyes, pulling my head closer against the boy's chest. We held one another for a long time, sharing our grief and sorrow without a word and comforted by the simple knowledge that the other understood.

The bite on my finger had vanished before our embrace's end.

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**EVER 17** -_you are in the infinity loop_- **EVER 17**  
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It began the following day.

"Morning," I called over to the boy, feeling rather chipper in spite of the coming day of tests.

"Nnh," he answered vaguely, offering me a simple nod of the head in greeting.

Huh? Hadn't we shared a special moment together last night? He usually was the enthusiastic one in the morning instead of me. It seemed a little strange. I felt a bit put off, but ultimately decided not to worry about it. He may not have slept well, or perhaps he had a bad dream. Nonetheless, I sensed that he didn't want to talk and thus left our greeting at that. As per normal the boy was taken soon thereafter by the researchers to poke and prod him with whatever they felt like that day. I didn't think much of it. I stayed in our room and read one of the books that I had been given. The researchers did give us some things to read or mess around with every now and then. We'd gotten a couple of new books within the past week, and so I was content to read more of the mystery book that I'd began the previous day. I became engrossed by the story, and time passed quickly.

The boy returned several hours later. He looked a bit tired, but more than that, he looked more downtrodden than usual. I wondered if he was feeling ill? He didn't look very good.

"Are you okay?" I asked, mildly worried. "You look a little sick."

"I'm fine," he replied brusquely. "Just...mind your own business."

"Huh...?" I spoke before it even fully registered with me. My stomach turned at his words, and suddenly I felt a bit ill. What was that about? I hadn't said anything to make him mad today, had I? No, I'd only greeted him earlier today. Was he mad about the hug last night for some reason? But...I could tell that he was comforted too at the time. Had he changed his mind all of a sudden? "What's wrong...? Did I do something?"

He was silent for several moments, his eyes refusing to meet mine. "No...no, it's not you, Tsugumi. Just...leave me alone, okay?"

"O-okay," I whispered. I turned my eyes down to my lap, puzzled and hurt. What was going on...? In three years, he'd never been this moody. I'd seen him in a bad mood before, but it was never this extreme. Maybe he really did have a dream that disturbed him this badly? I had no way of knowing. I could only do as he asked. I left him alone, reading my book once again. Actually, my eyes skimmed over the words, but I didn't retain much of what I was reading. My mind was preoccupied now. I was worried. And somehow, for a reason I couldn't yet explain, I was afraid. But I had no way of knowing that fear was only a prelude of what was to come.

I would soon discover the true fear of being alone.

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**EVER 17** -_you are in the infinity loop_- **EVER 17**  
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The gap between us continued to grow. It was a slow, but gradual process. A month had passed since our embrace, but we were now nearly as distant as strangers. It felt as though we were simply two people with nothing in common sharing a room. He had gone to great lengths to push me away and isolate himself. It was now to the point that I hardly saw the point of trying to talk to him anymore. I still didn't know why, and in spite of his withdrawal, I still cared deeply for him. His behavior was incomprehensible to me, but I had trouble pushing him for an answer. How could I ask him? If he no longer liked me for whatever reason, I felt that by asking him I would be throwing my last shred of dignity into the garbage.

It's funny to think just how easily I threw away my dignity then, fishing for a single grain of happiness.

We had just been served our dinner and were eating together. Well, perhaps not eating together. I was seated on my bed eating my meal while he sat upon his bed and ate his food. There was no conversation. Really, we just happened to be sharing a room while we ate. I'd submitted to the fact that things were this way for now, but that didn't mean that I'd given up finding out the reason why and mending our relationship. This boy...he was the only support that I had now. Well, except for Chami, and Chami wasn't exactly going to understand my troubles.

I put a few peanuts and sliced cucumbers from a few days ago aside for Chami. He seemed fond of cucumber, though I knew not to feed him too much from past experience. He seemed happy with his meal, eating next to me on the bed sheet. When I looked at Chami, it was actually easy to forget that I had so many problems bearing down on me. I was grateful for that, but I also knew that I was going to have to face up to the most glaring problem very soon.

It turned out to be much sooner than I expected.

"Uah...!"

I jerked my head in the direction of the sudden cry. It was the boy. His tray, along with most of the food that had been brought to him, clattered to the floor with a loud crash. He was holding his head in his hands, his eyes tightly closed. His expression showed clearly that he was in pain. Panic washed over me immediately. I pushed my tray aside, which also crashed to the floor, and was beside him an instant later.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" I asked in one quick breath. I placed an unsure hand upon his shoulder and stared at his pain-stricken face. What was happening...? I'd never seen anything like this before from him.

"I-I'm okay..." he managed through unsteady, ragged breaths. He certainly didn't look okay.

"What happened?" I searched his face for some kind of explanation. All I saw was pain. His eyes wouldn't focus on me.

"N-nothing..." he replied quietly.

That was it.

"It's not nothing!" I yelled, swinging my hand from his shoulder. "You don't scream and put on a face like that for nothing! Why don't you trust me anymore?! Why don't you talk to me anymore?! I'm just worried about you! If you don't like me anymore...just say it! Tell me that you hate me, but at least explain why! I won't understand if you don't at least tell me why!"

Finally, I'd managed to say it. Tears brimmed in my eyes, but I didn't let them fall this time. I angrily blinked them away, challenging him with an angry glare. If he was going to say that he hated me, I would withstand his words. I would face the reality, I would accept it, and if I needed to...well, then I would cry later.

"It's...not like that," he whispered, the pain in his face slowly fading. His eyes, however, now seemed to hold a sorrowful glimmer. Perhaps it was only my imagination.

"Then what is it like?" I challenged, trying to remain angry. If I couldn't remain angry at him, I knew I probably _would_ end up crying.

He didn't raise his eyes to look at me as he spoke, his voice low. "I...don't want you to get hurt anymore, Tsugumi. So I can't—"

"Don't you understand that you're hurting me now?!" I shouted. It was the truth. Why did he think that he was going to hurt me? I knew him. I knew that it wasn't like him to hurt anyone. So why was he acting like this? It didn't make any sense.

"Tsugumi...it's because I know..." his voice trailed off. I waited a moment for him to continue, but his lips didn't move.

"You know what?" I demanded. My fury had subsided a bit, but I refused to let it show.

"I know what's going to happen," he muttered. "I saw it."

"What's going to happen?" I asked. I thought that I was beginning to understand what he was getting at. He'd seen something in the future – something bad. Yet even now, I hesitated to believe it.

"So please...try and understand," he begged. "We can't get any closer, Tsugumi."

My heart ached. I hardly felt the outer wounds anymore, but this hurt more than I could have imagined. Had I forgotten real pain? Perhaps somewhere along the way I had acquired a false sense of invincibility. That was now shattered. Biting my lip hard, my face curled into a sneer to hide the hurt. I turned my back to the boy, afraid that tears might fall from my eyes. I wouldn't show my tears to a boy like him...a boy who would worm his way into someone's heart and throw them away when doubts crept upon him.

"Fine," I whispered, desperately trying to keep my voice from quivering. "I get it. Haha...I'm so stupid..." I reached up and wiped the tears brimming in my eyes once again. "But...at least I'm not a hypocrite like you."

"Tsugumi—" the boy whispered, reaching out to take my hand.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled, jerking my arm away from the boy. I folded my arms tightly about my chest, my voice fading to a whisper. "Don't...touch me..."

I walked away from him, stepping out into the hall without caring. The researchers would find me and bring me back soon enough. Until then, I just wanted to get as far away from him as I could. His words haunted me, and deep down I knew that perhaps I wasn't being completely fair. He'd seen something bad...but that didn't change the facts; I had been jilted. I couldn't stand it. I had been betrayed again. Why? How could these people throw around the word 'friend' so easily? A friend was someone who would offer you support, and I could clearly see that the boy would no longer do so for me. The guilt in his eyes was irrelevant to me at that time. I felt that I was alone once again.

Ironically, I still had yet to discover what true loneliness was

* * *

**Author's notes:**_  
Hope you enjoyed chapter 3! I had a good time writing it. I particularly had fun with Chami's introduction. It was one of the few scenes where I didn't have to play up the drama too much, as I'm sure that Tsugumi fans just wanted to hear about her little hamster for a short while. I'm quite sure that Tsugumi never mentions how she met Chami, so I thought it might be an interesting little twist to say that she met him back in the research facility, nine whole years before the LeMU incident in this story._

_Of course, I'm also taking liberties in the story with just how long the boy was around. It is hinted that he disappears when she is young, but it is never explicitly stated so. Further, the game goes from the kids looking at the lab animals to the researchers telling Tsugumi to leave in a single scene. Considering that would leave at least a 6 or 7 year gap (judging by how Tsugumi was still acting), I felt that the timeline in regards to the boy's longevity in the research facility was free game. I doubt anyone cares that much, but I did my homework to make sure there wasn't a clear contradiction._

_Once again, I hope that the story has been enjoyable so far. Please leave me a review letting me know what you think! In closing, please enjoy the conclusion of "White Ceiling!"_


	4. Beginnings

_Disclaimer: All characters and likenesses contained herein are the intellectual property of KID. This is a fan piece designed for the sole purpose of entertainment, so please enjoy!_

_Spoiler Warning: This piece of fanfiction contains __**spoilers**__ relating to Tsugumi's scenario in EVER 17. It is recommended that you play through her scenario before reading._

_EVER 17:_  
**White Ceiling**  
by Andrew Glasco

_Chapter 4_  
**Beginnings**

* * *

A mere two days passed before I discovered the meaning behind the boy's cryptic foresight. 

I opened the curtains that afternoon. It was dark. Thick storm clouds covered the sky, a heavy rain beating down upon the window. It was a relaxing sound. I felt that the heavy storm was a fitting metaphor for my current state of mind, and so I found myself staring out the window in a daze. I didn't think about the outside very often nowadays. It simply wasn't a realistic idea to carry. The outside wasn't merely unfamiliar to me anymore, but it had somehow become an entirely different world – a world that I knew nothing about. I yearned to be free, and yet the prospect of freedom itself was frightening in a way. It was a tangled web, but one that I intended to face someday.

At that moment, however, my mind was overwhelmed by a single, overpowering word. Betrayal. I had been betrayed after opening my heart. I was vexed and disgraced. The dull pain in my chest wouldn't go away as all the other wounds that were inflicted upon me would. This wasn't a healing process that my affliction could hasten.

What was worse was that I couldn't bring myself to hate the boy. It would have been so much easier if I could condemn him in my own heart. Yet, I knew that the boy hadn't meant to hurt me as he had. For whatever reason, he had been trying to protect me from something. Part of me wanted desperately to believe him, but another part desperately wished that I could disprove his words so that I could more easily blame him.

Sadness, anger, love, hate...

My head was swirling. Anger being the easiest of these emotions to rationalize, I found myself trying to blame and wanting to hate him. Yet a voice of reason lived on within me, and so I was not overwhelmed by these emotions. Of course, this only brought me more confusion. What was right? Was I wrong to be acting like this? Was I to blame after all?

I had avoided him for the past two days, and he hadn't made an attempt to talk to me. He appeared sad, but also determined not to try and fix things. Angry, I certainly wasn't going to make a move in that direction either. I felt that I was justified after his thoughtless actions. Weren't we all that the other had to rely on?

A sigh escaped my lips. There was a loud voice in the hall. It was muffled and undoubtedly quite a distance away, but was also loud and sounded flustered. My eyes turned towards the door with mild curiosity. I simply sat upon the bed for a few more moments before I gathered the motivation to stand and walk over to the door, opening it just a crack to listen.

"—going into cardiac arrest! Hurry!"

Hasty footsteps followed, voices jumbling together as they too tried to figure out what was happening. Someone was in danger of dying. That was all I understood. I had no doubt that their thoughtless testing had played a part. I felt a fresh surge of anger. Not only did they make a living by controlling lives, but they were not above taking them away, either.

I was angry, but not shocked. Not yet.

I returned to my bed to wait for my tests as usual. I stared out the window blankly. I didn't know how much time passed. I only noticed something strange when I saw that the sunlight that managed to penetrate the thick clouds was fading. It was already almost evening. They had missed my testing before on several occasions, but it was not a common occurrence. Of course, I immediately linked it back to the ruckus from earlier that day. Decidedly, if one of their precious little specimens were on the brink of death, they would sacrifice all of their resources to ensuring that they would be fine. I was cast aside as an afterthought for today.

I certainly didn't mind.

I laid back. An all too familiar white ceiling met my eyes. Just how many times had I seen this cursed ceiling, I wondered? I had absolutely no idea. The idea of the true number sickened me. Sighing, I closed my eyes to rest and hopefully pass the time quicker. I slipped into a doze.

I don't know how much time passed, but it was nearly completely dark when the door to my room opened. The noise stirred me from my light sleep, and I blinked my eyes open to recognize the researcher who would always bring us our meals. He stepped over to me and, ignoring the fact that I was awake, placed the tray at the foot of the bed beyond the reach of my feet. He then started back for the door.

I then realized something was terribly wrong. All at once, a cold sweat rose upon my skin. What was this panic that gripped me...? I called after the researcher without even thinking.

"Wait!"

He paused and craned his head to glance back towards me. I wasn't going to wait for him to ask what I wanted.

"What...about the boy's food?" I asked, my voice fragile like a half-broken glass.

He sighed laboriously, turning his head away from me for a moment before glancing back. "He won't be coming back," was his simple, but startling response. "Eat your food and go to sleep early."

The door closed and he was gone.

I was frozen. The puzzle immediately pieced itself together in my mind, but I refused to accept it. It couldn't be right. I'd seen him off this morning. He had been fine. But in spite of my denial, the words I had heard earlier echoed loudly in my ears.

"—_going into cardiac arrest! Hurry!"_

"No," I whispered, refusing to accept the truth that I understood all too well. "No, no, no!"

He had been distancing himself from me on purpose. I knew that. But I had no idea why...until now. He had known. It must have come to him so suddenly. He knew that he was going to die. He had pushed himself away from me to try to protect my selfish heart. I finally understood what he was thinking. But it was too late now.

I screamed. I screamed loud, hard, and long, until my voice at last cracked under the strain. The tears immediately followed, my voice breaking down into bitter sobs of denial. No one came. No one was listening. There, alone in that cursed cell, I was certain that the last of my spirit had died. I had become a mere shell, waiting for death.

Yet my cursed body refused to accept death so easily.

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**EVER 17** -_you are in the infinity loop_- **EVER 17**  
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Five years. Five more hellish years passed inside that facility. I remained there, but the spirit of Tsugumi Komachi was dead. No longer truly living, I merely existed. Living is more than simply having life. Living involves goals, hopes, and dreams. These had all been stolen from me. I was now merely sustained physically to be a research tool.

Over the past five years I had learned much more about the cause for all of my misery. The name of my disease was the "Cure Virus." It was a stupid name, implying that the virus was some kind of Holy Grail. I knew better. It was a curse that had destroyed my life – a life that would not end of its own accord. The virus even ceased my body's natural aging process approximately two years ago. The cells within the body die and are replaced on a daily basis, but it takes a cycle of roughly five years for all of the cells in the body to undergo this process. I was infected at the age of twelve, and from that time on the new cells that replaced the old carried the virus. Within five years, at the age of seventeen, all of the cells within my body had been replaced by ones that carried the virus. When the last of the normal cells in my body had been replaced by virulent ones, I stepped beyond the human definition of mortality. My telomeres began to regenerate themselves all their own. I would never age, and with the nearly supernatural rate of my body's healing process, it would be very difficult for me to die.

From what I had gathered, I was one of only a few known carriers of this particular virus. I had been told that my strand was somewhat different, though I still did not know how. I wanted to know why, but it wasn't an intellectual curiosity. It was one spurned by hatred for the disease and my own body for falling victim to it. If not for that disease, I never would have been brought here. The virus had brought me nothing but misery for eight years, and I had no idea how much longer I would be forced to continue to exist as a specimen. I wanted to die, but my own body wouldn't allow it. Even my own body rejected my last remaining desire. It was enough to nearly drive one mad.

In those five years I had but one friend. Chami. It no longer mattered that he couldn't understand me nor speak. When terribly desperate for companionship, people may do things that seem strange. I whispered my thoughts to Chami on many things all the time, all while knowing that I was really only talking to myself. It didn't matter, though. I made me feel better, and at the very least Chami trusted me by now. He relied on me for food and play, and I relied on him for sanity. We both must have found it a fair trade. I had managed to keep the little hamster a secret from the researchers for five years largely because they simply didn't pay attention to what I did while I was in my little prison. So long as I kept obvious signs out of sight, the researchers wouldn't think twice about it.

I'd grown too secure with this arrangement.

It was in the morning. The researchers would routinely come and get me for the day in the afternoon if they wanted to do any testing. After eight years, the tests had grown far more infrequent, and so I spent many more days sitting alone in my room. It still being morning, I thought nothing of sitting up in bed, petting Chami with my ring finger absentmindedly as he lay in my lap. He was almost asleep, dozing, and I was staring off into space without thinking much of anything. I jerked out of my daze as I heard the door suddenly open.

Of course, the researcher who tended to me most of the time was there, stepping into the room before I had time to even wonder what he was doing here so early. I noticed his expression change into an angry frown quickly, and suddenly I realized why. Panicking, I used my hands to cover Chami in a useless gesture.

"Th-this is—"

"No excuses!" he cut me off with a roar, stepping over to the bed. I only noticed that his hand was reared back before the stinging sensation struck my cheek. I slowly raised a hand to touch the burning spot on my cheek. I turned my eyes up to glare defiantly at the researcher who had built a life around destroying my own.

"Does it make you feel big?" I asked, my tone low and cold. "Does it make you feel big to kick your little guinea pigs since they can't do anything to fight back?"

It seemed that my words struck a chord. He was visibly seething. His face grew red, and there was no sign of his false smile now. I won a brief moment of satisfaction at his fluster before it was completely forgotten. He snatched Chami up in one swift motion and threw the helpless hamster at the wall with all his might. There was a small, but sickening thud. A small bloodstain stained the wall where the now-lifeless hamster had crashed. I forgot to breathe, and my eyes were wide with horror.

"That will teach you to—"

He didn't finish his sentence. He couldn't, because I was already on top of him, my slender but strong fingers coiled tightly about his now frail-looking neck. His eyes were wide with shock and something akin to fear. If I hadn't been so completely consumed with anger, I might have savored the expression.

"I'll kill you!!" I screamed hysterically, willing my hatred into my words. "You monster...!"

An odd gurgling sound escaped his throat as he fought to breathe, his arms reaching up to try and pry me away. For the first time I was thankful for just how strong the virus kept my body normally inactive body. He didn't have the strength to push me off. Thrusting all of my weight down on him, my arms quivered with effort. His face was quickly changing color, all rationality having left his quivering eyes.

I was so engrossed with murderous intentions that I did not hear the door open. The next thing I knew, two more researchers dove forward onto me, tackling me away from the creature that had killed Chami.

"Let go!!" I demanded, managing to free myself from one of them by sheer adrenaline. Consumed by a beast-like rage, I clawed at the other's face with my nails, cutting the skin of his cheek deeply. With a cry, he fell back as well. Like a predator smelling blood, I leapt back onto my prey. He had turned over onto his back and was coughing roughly, pitifully trying to crawl away to escape. I grasped his hair and pulled his neck back before slamming his head forward into the ground. I felt gratified that the impact was probably something like what Chami had endured.

I suddenly felt a sharp prick in the back of my arm. One of the researchers had injected me with something! With an angry snarl, I yanked the syringe out and slammed a fist into the side of his head. More researchers entered the room. I lost track of what I was doing, trying to get away from so many of them. Despite my animalistic rage, I was quickly detained beneath several of them. I struggled, but my strength was quickly fading. In the back of my mind, I was sure that it was due to whatever had been injected into me. Soon, only two of them were holding my arms, forcing me up into a sitting position.

A shooting pain suddenly shot through my head, the force of the blow jerking my head far to the side. After a moment, I raised my head to see the researcher I'd initially attacked glaring down at me. He raised his foot and kicked down at my head again and again. The force of the blows eventually freed me from the confines of my captors, but my thoughts were so muddled from the impact and the pain of the blows that I didn't have the presence of mind to fight back. I collapsed to the ground, and he continued to stomp and kick me in the head and side. A few long moments passed without new pain, and with quivering arms, I tried to force my upper body up...but a hard boot directly under my nose knocked me to my back. Red filled my vision as my consciousness faltered. Was it my own blood or were my eyes broken...? Voices argued loudly. Demanding someone stop. Refusal. The yelling voices all muddled together. I don't know what they said. Were they even words at all? All I'm certain of is that the beating didn't stop there. My body seemed to refuse to let me lose consciousness as the blows continued. My red vision was hazy, and I couldn't make out who was hitting me any more, but my entire body burned with pain.

I don't know how long it continued. Ten seconds? Ten minutes? But finally the blows stopped, muffled voices still muttering things that didn't make sense to my ears. The side of my head felt sticky with something which I managed to deduct was blood. Of course, it only made sense with the impact of the blows.

One of the researchers took the time to spit in my long, now red-matted hair before the voices slowly faded until I couldn't hear them anymore. My thoughts were an incoherent mess, my brain perhaps unable to deal with the severity of the injuries. Yet, I recall faintly wondering if perhaps this would be the time I was waiting for. Perhaps the blood would drain from my head quickly enough that my body wouldn't be able to recover. Just maybe I would finally be allowed to die, along with Chami.

I wish it would be so as my consciousness finally failed me.

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**EVER 17** -_you are in the infinity loop_- **EVER 17**  
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White. That was all I saw.

As I blinked my weary eyes open, the blur of white slowly came into focus. It was a ceiling – a white ceiling that I knew far too well.

I hated that ceiling.

The scene slowly came back to me. That researcher had killed Chami. I had snapped and tried to kill him, and been beaten like a stray dog for my efforts. I had no sense of time, so I didn't know if it had been hours or more than a day since the events had transpired. I only knew that it was dark outside since no light peeked through the thick curtains.

It was then I realized that I was still lying on the floor. Rolling over to my side, I slowly pushed myself up onto my hands and knees. Drying blood and a small trace of spit still littered the floor. I was sure that my hair looked lovely. Not that it mattered. Of course, my wounds had healed themselves. If anything, I only felt a bit light-headed as I stood up. I glanced to the side of the room and stumbled over towards the little blood stain that Chami had left behind on the wall. I pressed my hand lightly against the dried blood, a grave sense of loss filling me once more. My eyes remained dry. It was too late for tears. I wasn't sure that I even remembered how to cry them anymore.

Chami, of course, was gone. I knew that they must have taken him with them for whatever reason. It angered me, but I was too tired to bother making more of a scene. There wasn't any point, anyway. I had caused them trouble, and I'd even managed to probably hurt a few of them pretty badly, but I felt no gratification from it now. If it would have prevented them from doing this to someone else, perhaps it would have had purpose. Yet I knew that after beating me and nursing their injuries they went right back to their normal routine, no doubt cursing the crazy virus girl all the while. I didn't care what they thought of me, but it sickened me to be reminded that there was no justice.

Just then, I caught sight of something moving out of the corner of my eye. A bug? I jerked my head in the direction of the movement to see...a djungarian hamster making its way towards me. Chami? But it was impossible. I knew that a creature like him couldn't survive that kind of an impact. Yet, there he was. Still stunned, I reached down and cupped my hand for Chami to hop onto. He obliged, and I brought him close to my face to have a look at him.

There wasn't a scratch on him. He was perfectly fine, his eyes as beady and curious as ever. But how? He wasn't like me. He wasn't a carrier of the Cure Virus...

Or was he? That question burned into my mind, I recalled a scene from five years ago.

"_Ow!" I cried, startled. A thin stream of blood began leaking out from the new, small wound on my finger. The hamster hadn't pulled away from the fresh wound. "Let go!"_

"Chami," I whispered, recalling the first time that I had met the little hamster. At that time he'd come into contact with my blood, and a good bit of it considering his size. Had Chami been infected as well?

Of course he had. Even if not that time, somehow he had been infected. There was no other explanation for how Chami could have lived. I was stunned. Chami was just like me now, and like me, that was how it was whether he liked it or not. I felt my eyes dampen, but I blinked back the unfamiliar tears. I wondered silently if Chami would have been better off having the opportunity to die, but deep down I was relieved beyond words to have discovered that my only remaining companion was not only alive, but shared a closer bond with me than I ever realized.

I held Chami tightly to my chest in the darkness, but was forced to hold my tears in even tighter.

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**EVER 17** -_you are in the infinity loop_- **EVER 17**  
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"Get out of here. It's time for you to leave."

I stared with wide eyes.

His neck was bruised and looked swollen, a large bandage wrapped around his head. He looked like hell. Of course, I wasn't surprised. I had done it to him. It wasn't his battered appearance that had shocked me so.

"Wh...what?" I asked, unable to believe that I had heard him right.

"I said get out of here!" he boomed.

Of course, he hated me now. It was obvious from his tone and expression. He didn't bother hiding his feelings now that he wouldn't be needing me anymore. I didn't care. It was a mutual feeling. He had used me as a tool for eight years to help line his pockets. But now, to say that I was suddenly to leave...where would I go? I had no idea. The outside was another world to me now.

I almost asked him where I would go, but I stopped myself. It was a meaningless question. This man didn't care where I would go or what happened to me. This man was proof of just how filthy humanity is.

"Get out of here," he repeated. "You'll be escorted out, so hurry up."

The door closed, and I was left alone again. Alone save for Chami, of course, who was resting inside the sleeve of my gown. I was leaving...I was going to be free. They probably decided that I'd become too dangerous or unpredictable to stay here. I also guessed that they couldn't exactly transfer me anywhere easily without answering too many pressing questions about their kind of work here. They wanted to erase the fact that I'd ever been here. And they knew that I'd have no one to tell; there was no one who would believe me. It was the simplest, yet the most efficient solution.

I looked up. I saw the same white ceiling that I'd seen when I awoke in this very bed eight years ago. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since then. The ceiling hadn't changed at all, but I was a completely different person than I had been eight years ago. For eight years I submitted to their testing. They'd stolen my life from me and taken my dearest friend away from me along the way. Now they meant to toss me out the door like garbage that had been sitting for too long. It infuriated me. I should have expected nothing less, but it raised my hatred for them to new heights.

As I stood from that bed for the last time, I found a new goal. I would discover more about this place. I would discover more about my disease. I would survive.

I would have my revenge.

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**EVER 17** -_you are in the infinity loop_- **EVER 17**  
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Leiblich Pharmaceuticals.

On the surface they were a respectable pharmaceutical company whose stock shares were currently at an all-time high. Several VIPs owned most of the company's stock, and thus called the shots. They sold medicine for many things ranging from the common cold to sedation drugs exclusively for hospital use. Not satisfied to simply make a name for themselves with medicine, the company designed a marine theme park a couple of years back called LeMU. The name apparently originated from the legend of the lost continent of Lemuria. It's every entrepreneur's dream to grow to such heights. Leiblich was on top of the world.

I couldn't care less.

From my research, I was sure that LeMU held information about the Cure Virus somewhere within. There were even rumors of an undersea laboratory somewhere inside LeMU. I hadn't yet been able to conclusively link Leiblich to the research facility that I'd been held in for so many years, but I'd heard enough to have a strong suspicion that they were behind it. I had, after all, been investigating Leiblich on and off for the four years that I had been free of the research facility.

If not the Cure Virus itself, Leiblich was the culprit for my misery.

I planned to infiltrate LeMU, find the research on the Cure Virus, maybe ruin some of the research going on there, and finally make my escape. I had nothing to lose.

A cheery little girl tugged on my tail. I ignored her.

I certainly had no dignity to speak of, wearing this outfit. But it was necessary. It served two purposes: first, it would allow me to move through the park without paying and without suspicion since was a mascot costume, and second, it would keep the harsh rays of the sun from beating down on me. The giant lemur costume stood out, but in a good way. Everyone thought me to be an employee. I simply needed to keep quiet.

The child pulled on my tail again. I glanced back at her to find her smiling widely.

"Grrrrrr," the child growled. If she looked any less threatening...well, it would have been even more ridiculous. She couldn't have been older than fourteen, and that was being quite generous. A little dog was pulling on her as she tugged on my tail. It looked like some kind of comedy act.

I sighed and cast a glance back to the next person in line. He was a boy, probably nineteen or twenty years old. He was the rugged handsome sort, but that didn't matter to me one bit. Still, maybe he would help get rid of this kid.

"Hey," I called over. He looked from the little girl over to me. His expression? Perplexed. "Can you do something about this kid?"

The boy simply blinked his eyes at me, as though he were in a daze. He was going to be a useless one, I figured. Totally unreliable. Probably stupid, too. Sighing in exasperation, I turned away again, opting to ignore the kid until it was my turn to enter the park. My turn came soon enough.

A massive gate swung open, and I entered into a large entrance for visitors to the park. I immediately knew that this had to be the decompression chamber that compressed the air to roughly six atmospheres. I'd done my homework on this process so as not to be discovered. The park staff near the entrance were giving out little earphones as the visitors stepped inside. I didn't know about these, but I figured that they were to keep people's voices from sounding strange from the gases that were to be pumped into the complex. I stepped forward.

"Oh, don't have your voice alternators?" the worker asked, taking note of my outfit. I merely nodded. Such a stupid question...

The worker handed me the so-called 'voice alternators' without another word. I was about to move off to try blend in with the staff when the worker grabbed me by the arm. I clenched my jaw, but held my tongue. Surely they didn't suspect me?

"Hey, would you mind flipping the switch to call Sora through the door, there?" he asked.

I felt mildly relieved as I heard the question, and nodded once again. I stepped off towards the door he had indicated, shoving past a few stray visitors here and there, and opened the door. There was a console to the left, and a simple switch on the wall. I supposed that it was used to begin the decompression as well as to call this "Sora." I wondered briefly if she was the head of the park as I pulled the switch. The lights dimmed, and a moment later a female voice rung out enthusiastically over the whispering crowd.

"Hello everybody!"

A woman walked out from the shallow darkness. I scrutinized her with my infrared vision and immediately understood an important fact; this woman wasn't alive. Then I recalled a word that I had heard some time ago. "RSD." This woman had to be part of the LeMMIH system that controls the complex. So, she was called "Sora."

As Sora began her explanation of the decompression process, I felt Chami moving restlessly within my sleeve. He must have been getting hot inside. I couldn't blame him.

"Just a little longer Chami," I whispered, my eyes falling over the crowd.

"Co-co Ya-ga-mi!!" the young girl that bothered me in line earlier exclaimed, apparently introducing herself to Sora.

I turned my attention away again, glancing back to the unfamiliar console. The screen indicated that we were currently at two atmospheres of pressure. I worried a bit about how Chami would react to the pressure change, but I knew that he would survive. That was simply how it was, whether we liked it or not. I was here because of that. I wouldn't allow Leiblich to have their way.

When I broke away from my daydream of revenge, Sora was explaining about the level structure within LeMU. I knew this well enough already. We were on Insel Null, which was above sea level. The first floor down was Erste Boden, the second floor was Zweite Stock, and the third and lowest floor was Dritte Stock. Deciding to ignore this part of the lecture, I scanned the crowd once again.

The young girl from earlier and the spaced-out young man were talking with easy-going smiles on their faces. I wondered briefly just where they had come from. Just what was their story? Everyone has a story that explains how they've become what they are today. No one knows when their stories are going to end. Some are happy. Some are sad. Some are simple. Some are complicated. They had such simple, casual faces...they could probably never believe or understand a life like mine.

I was jealous, looking at the two unfamiliar people. Their story compared to mine would surely sound so simple, yet so much more desirable. I wanted my story to end while their faces clearly showed that they wanted their story to continue for as long as possible. But somehow, looking at the innocent happiness upon their faces, the strangest, most inexplicable feeling came over me.

My story had only just begun.

* * *

**Author's notes:**  
_And that's it! I sincerely hope that you enjoyed the story. My biggest problem with the final chapter by far was deciding what I should close the story out with. I toyed with the idea of using the final scene from Tsugumi's scenario, but I felt that would be too much of a downer after reading an entire story about a girl's already tragic past. In this way, I felt I could provide a sort of introspection with Tsugumi during the game's opening moments. My goal was to make a fairly smooth transition so that if people felt the urge to play the game, they could simply start a new game and feel as though they were picking up almost right where they just left off reading._

_I also debated on how to have Tsugumi discover that the amnesiac kid had died. The way I went about it may not have been too clever, but I felt it was perhaps a more realistic way of presenting it. Having her actually witness it seemed too contrived even in my mind, so I thought it certainly would come off as such to the readers. I was pleased with Tsugumi's bestial rage, as I felt it gave her a chance to at least unleash some of her anger and frustration upon those that destroyed her life. I felt that after going through so much pain and unrelenting stress for eight years, Tsugumi needed to snap at least once._

_Whether you want to mother my children, feel I should rot in the deepest level of Hell, or fall somewhere in the middle, please leave me a review and let me know what you think! In conclusion, thanks for reading!_


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